Strongest Weakness
by Pam Marks
Summary: Chapter 3 is up!!! :-)
1.

**Disclaimer:** The power rangers are not mine and I do not claim them as mine. I just like to write about them is all...is that so wrong? 

**Authors Note:** This is a stand-alone hopefully. The song I used is "My Strongest Weakness" by The Judd's. 

**Strongest Weakness**

**By: Pam Marks**

A stray tear slid down Tommy's cheek as he looked out over the crystal waters of the lake. _She's gone._ That was the only thing that went threw his shattered mind as he crossed his arms protectively. Kimberly Hart his world, some days his reason for even getting out of bed was gone. She had left him with a cold letter like she had never cared about him at all. _I guess she didn't care about me at all...I wasn't even good enough to get a phone call. Oh god why? After all we've been threw together...she's gone._ It wasn't fair, she had always been there for him, stuck by him no matter what, so what changed? Why was she gone? Why did she not love him anymore? Tommy sighed as he took a seat on the cool sand and pulled his knees up to his chin as he watched the sun light up the sky with multi colored rays. 

__

Keeper of the gates of wisdom   
Please let me in   
'Cuz I just can't go threw   
Another heartache again   
Pretty lies and alibis   
How could I be so blind   
Now all a lone   
And scared to stand   
Slowly going out of my mind 

Tommy smiled as he looked at the laughing Kat as Rocky was wiping the mustard that Jason had split on him off his paints. Jason just shrugged as he said, "You shouldn't have said that I was boring!" 

Tommy smiled as he got in on the joke "But Jason you ARE boring!" 

Jason glared at him "Watch it Oliver I know where you live." 

Tommy smirked "I am so scared really I am see I'm shaking." After he said this he acted as though he was shaking. 

Jason threw his napkin at him as Rocky pouted, "He gets a napkin thrown at him and I get mustard spilt on me who else thinks this is not fair?" 

Jason smiled "He can kick my ass and you can't so yea it is pretty much fair wouldn't you think so Tommy?" 

Tommy however didn't answer him as the news announcer on the near by TV caught his attention "A local teen girl won the gold medal in balance beam at the Pan Globels last night. Kimberly Hart was chosen to go to Florida and compete with other top gymnasts from around the world. She took home one gold medal, and two sliver medals." A video clip started showing of Kim finishing her routine and realizing that she had won. Tommy felt his heart break as her face lit up with the smile he had all ways loved as she ran straight into the arms of another boy and kissed him long and hard. The clip ended as the news anchors took back over "My John she looks happy with her boyfriend." 

"Why yes she does Lisa, that was fellow gymnast Mark Peterson and there are defiantly sparks there. In other news today a house caught fire in downtown Angel Grove and police say it was arson." 

Tommy turned away from the television as tears started stinging at his eyes. He looked around at the rangers who were looking at him with pity in there eyes "I have to I promised my uncle that I would help him with cleaning the guitars." Tommy quickly got up from his seat and bolted from the youth center before anyone could say anything. He sadly walked threw park on his way home as he miserably thought _I still love her. God why does it still hurt? I should be over her by now; it's been six months for god's sake. I should love Kat she is everything I could ever want and she will stick by me...so why do I still love Kimberly?_ He sighed as he walked on feeling more alone then he had ever felt before. 

__

She was my strongest weakness   
I surrendered heart and soul   
Its goanna be a long long time   
Till I regain control   
I'm still a prisoner   
Held captive by her memory   
She was my strongest weakness   
And I'm afraid she'll always be 

Tommy sighed as he threw his red duffel bag down on his bed and then fell next to it. He sighed as he rolled over on his side and tucked his hands under his head. He had just won a charity competition that would keep the shelter open so why wasn't he happy? Why did he not feel like partying with the others? He had used the excuse that he was too tired to party but if he was completely honest with himself it was because she was there. Kim had surprised them all when she came back to Angel Grove for a surprise visit. At first Tommy had thought that they would finally get to talk about what happened between them and why they grew a part but that had not happened. 

Instead every minute he was around her she would beagle the group with stories of Mark and how wonderful he was, not caring that Tommy's heart broke a little more at each word. He wanted to be the one kissing her, holding her, and encouraging her. He wanted to be the one that Kim bragged about, the she loved. He was at one time and he wished that he could be that again. He wished that she would look at him the way she used to, that he just had one more day with her. He should feel awful for feeling this way still he was with Kat now but he didn't love her. It was just a matter of time before she found someone that loved her back and then she all so would leave him. 

Tommy had told the flimsy excuse to the group when the they were all getting ready to head to Tanya's house to talk some more. Instead Tommy left the youth center and headed home not wanting to hear anymore. He shut his eyes as a tear slid out of one and crawled down his face slowly as he realized that he would never love anyone else but Kim. 

__

I gave my faithful heart to someone   
Who couldn't understand   
How she held my little world   
In the palm of her hand   
Now she's gone   
And life goes on   
So if this pain will ever end   
Will I be afraid to risk it all   
Ever fall in love again 

Tommy sighed tiredly as he dropped his red backpack beside his computer and plopped down his computer chair. It had been a very long day and all Tommy wanted to do was curl up in his nice warm dorm room bed and go to sleep. He had mid terms coming up and they were stressing him out more then usual. Collage life was great but it was much different then high school. When he started at California University that September he found himself all a lone. The rangers had gone there separate ways after they passed on the power. Sure they still wrote him and emailed him but it was not the same as it was and they all knew it. Kat had moved on as well just as he hoped she would. Just one month after arriving in London she had fallen head first for Kenny Shepherdstown a fellow dancer and they had ended it. _Just as well I could never give her what she wanted from me and maybe just maybe Kenny can._ He sadly thought to himself as he started shifting threw his mail his roommate had left for him on his desk. His heart stopped when he came to one that had Kimberly's handwriting on it. 

Turning it over he quickly opened it and took out a fancy invitation that read: 

__

You are invited to the wedding of   
Kimberly Hart and Mark Peterson   
On December 31st 1997   
At First Marshal Baptist Church   
Miami, Florida   
Please contact Kimberly Hart at:   
(665) 323-7786 

Tommy closed his eyes as he let the invitation fall to the ground. He felt his heart finally shatter completely and as the invitation hit the ground so did Tommy. 

_She was my strongest weakness   
I surrendered heart and soul   
Its goanna be a long long time   
Till I regain control   
I'm still a prisoner   
Held captive by her memory   
She was my strongest weakness   
And I'm afraid she'll always be_

Tommy watched the wedding from a far, it was an outside wedding and all the rangers past and present were there that is all but him. As Kim said I do he felt tears wale up in his eyes once more. He had not gotten in contact with any of the rangers to tell them that he would not be there. He had just packed two duffel bags and left his dorm room on the day he received the invitation. He did not tell anyone where he was going or what he was going to do. As Matt and Kim kissed Tommy smiled weakly _Good-bye beautiful I'll always love you._ With that thought Tommy shoved his hands in is jeans pockets and walked over the grassy plan and out of everyone's lives. 

__

She was my strongest weakness   
And I'm afraid she'll always be 


	2. To The Arms Of The One Who Loves You

**Disclaimer:** The power rangers are not mine. 

**Authors Note:** This is the prequel to My Strongest Weakness. The song I used is "The Arms Of The One Who Loves You" by X-Scape. Oh and the girl in the red jacket I have kept my promise and wrote a second part now its your turn. 

**The Arms Of The One Who Loves You**

**By: Pam Marks**

Sighing slightly to herself Kim got out of her blue BMW that her husband had just bought her for her twenty fourth-birth day. She headed into the market in LA with her head down hoping no one would notice her and she would not have to make up another excuse explaining why her husband was out of town yet again. She picked out a not so stable looking basket and started going threw the various specious isles lost in her own thoughts. 'What went wrong?' The thought broke threw even after her many times at suppressing it and she had no choice but to think back on the last years of her life. 

Everything had started out perfectly she had the best friends anyone could have and a wonderful boyfriend. Her heart twitched at the thought of him, it had been years since she had last thought of him. Tommy Oliver the man of her dreams that became reality in an instant. With just one look he had completely swept her of her feet. His smile was like a ray of sunshine that beamed brightly and his eyes were two pools of chocolate that she would get lost in for hours at a time. He was so warm and friendly to others and he was so shy around her it was adorable. 'If he was so great then why did you let him go?' A tear immediately shown in her eye 'Because I thought I was in love with Mark.' The tear broke free of her control and slid down her cheek as she threw a bottle of pees in her basket. 

_I know you're going   
I can't make you stay   
I can only let you know I'll love you anyway   
And the road you take   
Leads to heart brake   
Somewhere down the line   
If someone ever hurts you   
Or treats your heart unkind_

Mark Shepherdstown that name struck sadness into her heart. 'There was a time when I did love him.' She thought to herself carefully. When she went to Florida she had not known anyone she felt lost and all a lone. She had no family and no friends so she spent most of her time writing to Tommy and practicing. She never went out and she barely spoke to people. It was by chance one day that she met Mark. She had just finished practicing and was walking out and he was walking in. They had literally ran into each other knocking her to the ground. He had helped her up and they had started laughing immediately. At first he had reminded her so much of Tommy. He had his eyes and smile. She had clung to him for this reason and had started to stop writing and calling Tommy. They had fun, he showed her a great time and she made new friends. His family was rich and he was in law school and had a future, her mom had liked him immediately, but then again she had never liked Tommy. 

Kim umpped as she remembered what her mom had said to her about Tommy when she met Mark 'Dear Tommy is a wild card! He is going to be nothing but trouble and he has no future! Dear I really do not believe that he is the right one for you! He has a history of drugs and once a druggie ALWAYS a druggie! His mother ran off when he was ten years old for heavens sake! Then his father couldn't take care of him because of it and let him roam the streets! He got so out of control his father moved to Angel Grove just to try vainly to calm him down! Which I do not know if it did him any good or not! Oh honey Mark can take care of you better the Tommy Oliver ever will or ever could!' 

Kim smirked; she had foolishly given in to her mom and had actually believed her. Then again she had reasons to believe her mother, she had seen Tommy on days wanting drugs so bad it actually hurt him physically. He had even given into the craving once the night before she had left for Florida. He had not shown up for their date at all that night, she had waited for four hours before finally giving up on him all together. Disappointed but mostly worried she had gone to her room in Aisha's house and put on her night gown, then she had crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep so sure that something had happened to him. Then in the middle of the night something or someone crawling into her bedroom awakened her, it was Tommy and he was high as a kite. She had gotten him to her bed barely as he was saying some stuff that she did not understand and he had passed out completely when he hit the bed. 

That version of him had scared her to her very core, he had broken a promise that he swore he would never break, he had used. The next morning with out waking him she had left and drove herself to the airport. He had caught her however just as she was boarding the plane, he looked awful, his naturally tan skin was hidden under a grayish color, his hair was mated to his head, and his eyes were bloodshot red. He had started to cry that day begging her not to leave him that he would never do it again and if he did then she could leave him no questions asked. The part that had broken her heart was when he had broken down crying at her refusal to forgive him. He had hit his knees crying hard as she had started to walk away from him, she had turned to take one last look at him and saw this and her heart immediately broke in two as he cried her name. She ran back to him, took him in her arms, and held him as he cried. He had bear hugged her begging her not to leave him like his mother did. She did not leave him that day; she had taken a later flight that night so that they could have the day together, and talk. 

Later, sitting at a lone table in the youth center he had told her why he had used that night. The memory of his mom walking out on him and his dad was stronger then ever and he was so scared that she would walk out on him all so. He couldn't handle that she was leaving, it tore him up because he had a gut feeling that he was going to lose her in Florida and all of this had proved to much and he had used. She had reassured him that her love for him was too strong and they would all ways be together so matter what, she had lied. 

__

You just run   
To the arms of the one who loves you   
You just run to these arms   
And these two arms will keep you warm   
Where rain as felled your heart   
Never fear I'm never far   
You just run   
To the arms of the one who loves you 

She had broken his heart in the cruelest way she ever could, with a cold letter. She had not called him and had cut off communication with him after it. He had tried to call but she told her roommate to tell him that she was out or she let the answering machine pick up. She returned all his letters unopened back to him, she was cold and after a month he quit writing and calling and that was the end of it. She had lost the best thing that ever happened to her and for what? She had a life that she did not want and a loveless marriage. 

She slowly let out a low sigh as she tossed a carton of milk into her basket. The wedding had been beautiful she had felt like a princess about to marry the prince. When she marched down the bright white isle she had looked around for Tommy but did not see him anywhere. He had not called anyone to let him or her know that he was not going to be there in fact he had not called anyway that week. It was later found out that he had vanished as if into thin air. His roommate at collage had said that when he got in that night from collage on the day Tommy received the invitation to the wedding all he found was the wedding invitation on the floor and his stuff gone. No one had heard from or seen him since; it has been four years, and still nada. 'It's my fault.' She grumpily thought to herself, she had broken his heart and killed his spirit. She had paid the price for her mistake in thinking she loved Mark though. It was a loveless marriage from the start. Just two months after they had gotten married he had started taking 'business trips' to ski resorts with women clients who he claimed his law firm was representing. She had believed him for a while until she had found a love letter from one of his 'clients' telling him how good he was in bed. Surprisingly to her she had not shed a tear she had started to laugh. A great since of relief had flowed over her at that moment as she realized that he did not love her. It had all most immediately been shattered when she realized that she was stuck in the marriage. His mom would not hear of him getting a divorce it was improper in her eyes and he would destroy her in court because of it, she was stuck. 

Kim had kept the fact that she knew about his affairs a secret from him and continued to be his wife for appearances sake all though they slept in separate bedrooms. They never talked to one anther and he went his way and she went hers; he had become a stranger to her. 

__

I want you happy   
I want the best for you   
And if you have to leave to find your dream   
I hope that dream comes true   
But if the world you find brings your hard times   
If someone makes you cry   
I'll be there to hold you   
I'll be standing by 

Kim sadly dumped the squash into her basket and turned the corner. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw him standing there a few feet away with basket in hand. 'Tommy.' Her mind called out in shock as she just stood there staring at him wide eyed. 

__

You just run   
To the arms of the one who loves you   
You just run to these arms   
And these two arms will keep you warm   
Where rain as felled your heart   
Never fear I'm never far   
You just run   
To the arms of the one who loves you 

She felt like running to him and wrapping herself around him and kissing him long and hard but instead she kept on staring at him. 'God he looks awful!' She thought to herself, as she looked him up and down. He had his hair pulled back into a tight ponytail with a green bandana covering everything but his ponytail. A pair of black jeans clung loosely to his thin waist, and a baggy green tee hung on him like a rag. He was pale as a ghost and looked like the slightest gust of wind could send him to the floor. His chocolate brown eyes that she loved so much were hidden under dark sunglasses. She watched him as he picked up ketchup bottle and she realized he was shaking like a leaf. She covered her mouth when he dropped it and all most fell over when he went to retrieve it. 'Oh Tommy what happened to you! He looks just like he did the day he used...oh Tommy NO!!!' She thought as tears began to trickle down her cheeks as he shakily took a couple of unstable steps down the isle. 

__

My love is strong enough you know   
Strong enough to let you go   
But I'll always hold you   
Inside my heart   
And if you should ever chance your mind   
You can come back anytime   
And when you do 

Kim was at a lose for words or actions at that moment, half of her wanted to run to him and take him in her arms and hold him but the other half reminded her that she was a married women, she was torn. In the end all she did was stand there and watch him stumble down the isle until he turned the corner and disappeared out of her life once again. 

_You just run   
To the arms of the one who loves you   
You just run to these arms   
And these two arms will keep you warm   
Where rain as felled your heart   
Never fear I'm never far   
You just run   
To the arms of the one who loves you_


	3. I'll Be

**Disclaimer:** The power rangers are not mine and I hold no claim to them...that just makes me want a scream. ****

Authors Note: This is the third part in my Strongest Weakness series. The song I used in this part is "I'll Be" by Reba Macintyre. I hope you enjoy it and to the girl in the red jacket now I have two parts up on you! :) 

**I'll Be**

**By: Pam Marks**

Tommy quickly got in his black Honda and threw the few bags of groceries he had just gotten in the seat next to him. He first looked in his rear view mirror and sighed in relief when he saw that his daughter was still fast a sleep in her car seat. He buckled his safety belt and smiled as the car roared to life. He pulled out of the parking space and began to wonder to the exit of the market not noticing the pair of brown eyes watching him from a blue car as he drove a way. He pulled off onto the main road and sped up as he thought 'Ok...I went to the market to pick up a few things, went to the cleaners, picked up a new shower curtain, picked up my car obviously, paid for Melissa's doctor bill, called her pre school teacher back, got her cold medicine from the doctor, paid the babysitter for looking after her Friday night, picked up her blanket that Josie sewed back together, and.... ' His thought trailed off as he sort a smiled 'God who would have ever thought that I Tommy Oliver would have a daughter? It's been a couple of very interesting years I can say that much.' He thought as the traffic got heavy and he pulled to a stop behind a red mustang. 

He rolled his neck and clenched the steering wheel tightly when he heard his neck muscles pop. Sighing heavily to himself he grimly looked out his window into the cloudy sky as he mind went back over the past four years. 

_

When darkness falls upon   
Your heart and soul   
I'll be the light that shines for you   
When you forget how beautiful you are   
I'll be there to remind you   
When you can't find your way   
I'll find my way to you   
When troubles come around   
I will come to you

_

It had all started with the wedding that had destroyed him completely. Kimberly Hart had held his heart for the longest time and then crushed it and not even known it. He meant what he had thought that day he would all ways love her. If she said Tommy I want you back then he would still go running back to her. Tommy ran a unconscious hand threw his long brown locks and sighed heavily to himself as he thought of Katie. 

Katie had been his girl friend before he had left LA for Angel Grove. She was so in love with him from the first time he had met her in seventh grade. When he had left for Angel Grove they had ended it both agreeing that a long distance relationship was going to be to hard on the both of them. He smiled as he remembered all the wild nights he and Katie had together in the past. 'Yea we did have fun that's for sure but there was only one thing wrong I didn't love her like she loved me.' Tommy laid back against the seat at this thought. It was true he had not loved Katie sure he had loved her but he would not have died for her like he would have done for Kim. Sure back then he had thought he would do anything for her but he was only fooling himself. 

Katie and he were drug partners if she wanted drugs he would get them for her and if he wanted them then she would get them for him. He had loved to get stoned with her because when she got stoned she made him forget about everything but her. They had kept in contact over the years he was in Angel Grove and he even told her about Kim. She acted as though she was happy for him but he knew she was heart broken. She was the one that had gotten the drugs for Tommy the night he had gotten stoned in Angel Grove. She had driven five hours from LA to Angel Grove just to bring him some drugs that night then she had driven the whole way back. She had claimed that she was in town but he new better. Katie loved him and that is why she had done it. 

__

I'll be your shoulder   
When you need someone to lean on   
Be your shelter   
When you need someone to see you threw   
I'll be there to carry you   
I'll be there   
I'll be the rock   
That will be strong for you   
The one that will hold onto you   
When you feel that rain falling down   
When there's nobody else around   
I'll be 

It was not surprising that when he had shown up on her doorstep four years ago she had welcomed him in with open arms. They had lost contact with each other after the night she supplied him with drugs in Angel Grove and it was Tommy's doings that they did. He seemly had quit calling her and writing her. Whenever she had written him or called him he acted as if he had dropped off the face of the earth. He had known that it hurt Katie but he had not known how much it had hurt her until Kim had done it to him. The night he had shown up at her apartment he had told her all about the break up and about his vanishing act. He smiled as he remembered Katie taking him in her arms and holding him as he had cried. He had eventually fallen a sleep in her arms as she rocked him and said words of comfort. 

The next day he had learned that Katie's parents had died in a car accident one-year prier and that is why she was living in an apartment by herself. He had immediately felt guilty for not being there for her when it happened but she just smiled her heart-warming smile and told him to forget about it. She had welcomed him into her home and not thought twice about it. He had got a local job working on and repairing cars. He was good at it and it have him a great stress reliever. At night when he left work he would go home to Katie and the more he did this the more he liked it. He had liked walking in the apartment knowing she was off work and all ready there waiting for him to get home so they could go out or just watch TV together. He liked the feeling it gave him and for a short while he could forget about Kim and her new husband. 

_And when you there   
With no one there to hold   
I'll be the arms that reach for you   
And when you feel your faith is running low   
I'll be there to believe in you   
When all you find are lies   
I'll be the truth you need   
When you need someone to run to   
You can run to me_

He had gotten back on the drug routine all most immediately after arriving in LA. He knew it was wrong but he had not cared he no longer had anything to stay clean for so he didn't. Katie and he got stoned all most every night and some nights that would even invite people over to get high with them. He had felt like he was teenager just having fun again. However the fun was shattered one night when Katie and he had made the biggest mistake they ever made. 

It had started out like any other night they had both took two hits of cocaine. They had started to talk and pick at each other in a stoned stutter. Tommy had knocked over his cup of coke on the kitchen counter when he had busted into laughter over something Katie had said. He had started to clean it up when Katie started to help him both of them still chuckling. As if in slow motion and really before either one could stop themselves they kissed each other. When there lips met there passion and sexual tension had exploded for each other. Before he knew what was really happening he had her on the kitchen table with her skirt up and her panties off. It had been a moment of the purist insanity but for that moment of insanity they had paid dearly. 

They had written that night off as a fluke a never happened thing that is until he came home one evening and found Katie sitting on the couch staring off into space lost. Becoming worried he had sat down beside her and coxed her into telling him what was wrong. Nothing could have prepared him for what she said next she was pregnant with his child. 

__

I'll be your shoulder   
When you need someone to lean on   
Be your shelter   
When you need someone to see you threw   
I'll be there to carry you   
I'll be there   
I'll be the rock   
That will be strong for you   
The one that will hold onto you   
When you feel that rain falling down   
When there's nobody else around   
I'll be 

Katie was devastated she was doing so well for herself and slowly coming into her own. This was a life curve ball that she was totally unprepared for. They had spent the night talking and discussing the issue and in the end they had both decided to keep it. 

The next months had been hard on Tommy he had to hold down a job and take care of Katie at the same time. He found himself some days rushing home from work early because Katie had a pain in her stomach. She had stopped using drugs cold turkey when she found out that she was going to have a baby and pressured Tommy to do the same all thought he had not stopped he had let up to maybe a joint here or a hit there occasionally. They both were preparing to be parents a life step that they both were terrified off. 

Then it happened one day while at work Tommy had received a phone call from the hospital, it was Katie and she had gotten mugged and beaten while on her way home from the market and they were going to have to get the baby out or it would die. He had immediately hung the phone up and rushed out of work. He ran every stop light until he reach Las Angeles City Wide Hospital. Katie was in bad shape and in emergency labor when he got there. He had taken a seat in the waiting room and prayed for a miracle. 

Then the bad news had came Katie had died after giving her baby life. It was a healthy vibrant baby girl that now was motherless just like he was. He had cried when he had gotten to hold her for the first time. He had named her Melissa Rose Oliver after his mother that had left him when he was only ten. __

I'll be the sun   
When your hearts felled with rain   
I'll be the one   
To chase the rain away

Tommy smiled slightly and quickly whipped away the stray tears as he pulled into his apartment building parking lot. It had been three years sine Katie had died and he still felt like he had lost the best friend he could ever hoped for. When she died he had tried to kick the drug habit but it was hard and in the end he had not succeeded. His boss at the garage where he worked had even tried to help him but it had been no use. Then a little over three months ago Katie's sister June had gotten him enrolled in Clear Creek Counseling Center for drug addicts. At first he had refused to go but all it took was his daughters sad eyes when he had not been at her pre school residual because he was high. That was all it took he had stopped cold turkey and now went to meetings every Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday. It had taken a toll on him to quit cold turkey and he felt and looked like crap most of the time but at least he would not miss his daughter's life because of the drugs. 

__

I'll be your shoulder   
When you need someone to lean on   
Be your shelter   
When you need someone to see you threw   
I'll be there to carry you   
I'll be there   
I'll be the rock   
That will be strong for you   
The one that will hold onto you   
When you feel that rain falling down   
When there's nobody else around   
I'll be 

Tommy quietly got out of the drivers side grabbing the bags of groceries as he went and opened the back car door. He softly and gently picked Melissa up out of her car seat and his heart melted as she mumbled "Daddy." Then wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Tommy whipped a curly blonde hair out of her chubby face and kissed her forehead as he closed the door and headed up the stairs to his apartment not noticing the brown eyes watching him from a blue BMW as he went. 

__

I'll be 


End file.
